


the stories we tell about those who are gone

by birdlord5000



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Secret Samol 2020, fable-ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:47:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29109531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdlord5000/pseuds/birdlord5000
Summary: When stories are told about Millennium Break, many of them start like this:"A spider and a wolf sat talking one day..."
Relationships: Gur Sevraq & Valence
Kudos: 4





	the stories we tell about those who are gone

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Secret Samol quinleysquare!!

A spider and a wolf sat talking one day

The spider had just finished his sermon, a good one if he did say so himself. The weeks before the pilgrimage were always crowded; people who were normally too busy carved time out of their days to worship. And there were some new faces, too. That was to be expected whenever he performed a miracle, especially one as visible as turning the power back on for a good chunk of the city. Most of the newcomers had scuttled off after the sermon, their interest gone as soon as they realized that this wouldn’t be a magic show. One, however, was sitting in front of them now, holding a paper cup full of coffee in one hand and half a bagel in the other. 

“It’s always good to see a new face,” the spider said. “My name is Gur Sevraq. Welcome to our church.”

The wolf placed their coffee on the floor and extended their hand. “Valence,” they said. “Thank you for the sermon today. It was enlightening.”

The spider took the wolf’s hand. “Oh? I’d be interested in hearing what enlightened you, if you don’t mind sharing.”

The wolf smiled. “Not at all! I’m actually fairly new to this planet, so there are some aspects of the culture here that I’m still unfamiliar with. This is my first time learning about the pilgrimage on The Prophet’s Path. It sounds exciting, to walk the path of someone chosen by God.”

“Yes,” the spider laughed despite himself. “Perhaps more exciting than we might like, what with the conflicts we’ve seen in recent weeks.”

The wolf cocked their head, doglike. “Will you be safe? Do you have protection?”

“Some, yes, but not as much as we would like.” The spider sighed. Perhaps it was unsafe to admit their vulnerability to a stranger, but what was one curious stranger compared to the entire Apostalisian army? Or, worse, the Pact if they decided to take revenge on him.

“I might be able to help you with that.”

“Oh?”

The wolf stood from their chair. The bagel had disappeared at some point while they were talking, and they flicked the last crumbs from their gloved hands. “I work for a team of freelancers. We, ah, acquired a pair of Troop units on our most recent mission. I don’t think that my associate would be willing to let them go for free, but perhaps we could work out a deal?” They smiled again, eyes narrow, ears forward.

“I will, of course, have to check with my chief of security,” the spider said, “but I would be happy to take you up on your offer.”

-

A spider and a wolf sat talking one day

Though perhaps what they were doing shouldn’t be considered talking. They were, after all, miles apart, connected through some psychic non-space. 

The spider had found himself a corner of a library to claim as his own, as spiders often do. From what the wolf could see in their mind's eye, they were comfortable despite being captured. Still, a wordless understanding passed between the two that the spider would much rather be where the wolf was right then-- on a balcony overlooking the Isles, a warm sea breeze drifting past.

"Are you safe?" was the first question that the wolf asked. They saw what the spider saw, and in the dreamlike haze, the words of the books spread out in front of him swam and wavered. “Your friends are worried about you.”

“I am not injured,” the spider replied. It was only half an answer to the wolf’s question, and he knew that. “I am imprisoned, but protected, and as you can see, it is a gilded cage.” They gestured at the shelves that towered over them, though they were unsure if the wolf could really see them.

“Your friends aren’t the only ones who are worried,” the wolf said. Their presence in the spider’s mind felt like a cloak of gentle concern. 

The spider flipped a page and said nothing for a moment. “There will be a time when I will see all of you again, I promise. Until then, let people know that I am not lost. I just have more reading to do.”

“If you say so,” the wolf said, and they parted.

-

A spider and a wolf sat talking one day

There was little that could overwhelm them after they had exchanged glances in the encompassing brightness of the True Divine, but the view from the top deck of a stolen fort was still breathtaking.

The wolf gripped the railing as they watched a new group of passengers board the ship. They were still adjusting to the repairs that their body had needed. Unpracticed movements felt foreign to them.

“All these people,” they said, “Do you think that we can build something together?”

The spider hummed. His sights were set somewhere beyond the horizon. “I think that there is nothing that we can do except try. To those born into empire the way the citizens of the Principality are, it seems inescapable. They find it hard to conceive of a world that takes a different shape.” From his robes, the spider drew a golden orb. It looked light in their hand, but around it the air seemed heavier. “There are times when even I have to rely on Future’s power in order to see the possibilities that are open to me.”

The wolf cocked their head as they stared at the little divine. Such a simple looking machine, yet it sat shoulder to shoulder with Past and Motion and Empyrean. 

With one of their many limbs, the spider took the wolf’s hand and placed it on top of the orb. The metal was warm, their sensors told them.

"Tell me what kind of future you can dream of, Valence."

The wolf cast their mind out. So many things had changed since they originally took on this mission. The Principality was both crueler and kinder than they had expected. And then god had given them an ultimatum.

"Is it naive to say I wish for a peace treaty between the Principality and the Nobel?" they asked. "That even after they went back on their oath, I can still believe in an open border and peaceful neighbors?"

"It is not naive," the spider replied, "though it may be a bit unrealistic. Still, I don't think that Future would show you a possibility that was completely out of reach. It seems more interested in what one can do with their ambition."

The spider folded the divine back into their robes. "I am excited to see where the ambitions of this group take us."

-

A spider and a wolf sat talking one day

It was late into the night, and the halls of Fort Icebreaker echoed with quiet. The spider and the wolf were huddled in a spare office filled to bursting with fliers.

"I'm glad that I won if it means that Clementine didn't," the wolf was saying, "but I don't know how to lead these people, Gur. I've never been in this kind of position before, much less been in charge of a group of revolutionaries from a culture that I'm not even a part of."

"Take it one step at a time," the spider soothed. "Those people elected you because they believed that you could lead them. I believe that you can lead them. You just have to be patient and listen to their needs. The rest is facing problems as they come."

The wolf tilted their head the way they often did when they had a question. "I don't understand why you didn't run," they said. "People already know and trust you, and you've already spent so many years leading the people of your church. It seems to me like it would be a natural fit."

"It's because of the church," they replied. "I don't want to be so overwhelmed by politics that I forget the duties of my faith. Just as this group needs a leader, my church needs a priest." He smiled, mandibles clicking. "And I much prefer a subtle approach. I would rather be the advisor at the leader's shoulder than the one leading the charge."

"Do you plan to do that for me?" the wolf asked.

"If you wish."

-

A spider and a wolf sat talking one day

“Valence,” the spider asked the wolf, “what made you choose that form when you first came here?”

The wolf looked up from mending a tear in their robes. “There is a story on my home planet. For a long time we thought ourselves to be sheep, guided and protected with God as our shepherd. When we came under threat from wolves, we expected God to protect us. And when God failed to do that, we assumed that it was telling us to fight for ourselves. After many losses, God finally said that it made the wolves just as it made us, that we were all a part of the same pack. So we put down our weapons and instead worked to understand the wolves, and in time they became our family. When I came here, I wanted to take that story with me, so that I could try to understand the Principality and come to an understanding with them.” The wolf set down their needle. “Of course, it’s never that simple, is it?”

The spider laughed. “No, of course not. That is why we have to change from time to time.” He gestured at the wolf’s new body, its sharp angles and gaseous veins. Then, the spider drew their own robe back to show the knife-sharp point of one of his many legs. “When we were younger, Apparatus and I were much more alike. We were raised together, almost like siblings. As we grew, they took on the flash and style that comes with their position, and I realized that sometimes I had to be a weapon as well as a guide.”

The wolf, all sharp new angles and exposed self, nodded.

-

A spider and a wolf sat talking one day.

It was the last time that they would see each other alive, though they did not know it. Outside the wind whipped and howled, threatening a storm.

"It was foolish of me to wait this long," the spider said. "Authority Itself told me directly to assemble its exemplar, and here I am getting bogged down in the inner workings of a revolution while the parts of the exemplar are still scattered to the wind."

The wolf placed a hand on the spider's shoulder.

"It's not your fault," said the wolf, "Millennium Break has been so all-consuming, it's no wonder you got lost in it. If anything, I'm at fault for not reminding you. We heard that message together, after all."

"Valence," the spider shook his head. "You are so quick to take the blame on your shoulders. It's a wonder you don't collapse from the weight of it."

They paused, and the wolf huffed out a tiny laugh.

"The best we can do," the spider continued, "is to move forward from here. I have a few leads from my research. Hopefully at least one of them will be what I need."

-

A spider sat tangled in a web of Russian sage.

Clementine was asleep downstairs, and so the night was quiet save for the occasional rustle of sage in the wind. The spider was perched at the very top of the house. The sky was scattered with unfamiliar stars, and the spider wondered if the wolf could see the same constellations. 

They tried to cast their mind out as the wolf had done, to speak thought to thought as if sitting together at a table, but there was no response. Beneath him the sage rustled its condolences.

-

A wolf stood tall in a cemetery for heroes.

They had seen the spider on the screen, but disbelief curled in their thoughts. The words of their friend, always careful, had stuttered and slipped as if patched together. And deep in their heart the wolf knew that the spider would rather die than renounce what they had built together. 

The wolf reached out a psychic hand, trying to grasp the thread that stretched between them. They wanted to ask once more if the spider was safe.

But the thread was cut, and the wolf curled their fist in quiet rage


End file.
